In the center of Pogradec, the luxury hotel “Rich Hotel”, owned by the Bulicka family, was placed under preventive seizure by the Korça Prosecutor’s Office on September 26, 2025, after a three-year investigation. The investigation concluded that the owners are suspected of having invested the proceeds from drug trafficking in Italy and Spain in movable and immovable property, registering them in their own names and those of their family members. Despite the seizure, the hotel continues its normal activity, while the owner, Edlira Bulicka, has denied the accusations, emphasizing that the truth will come out.
The investigation also includes the unverified income and significant financial transactions of Edri Bulička, who claimed to have income from work as a waiter, but it turns out that he was not employed. Also, his mother's commercial activity, "online sales", raises doubts about the real functioning of the business, since the address of the activity coincides with that of the apartment. In total, not only the hotel, but also two apartments, land, a car business, a service station and six vehicles have been seized.
In addition to the specific hotel case, audits by the Supreme State Audit Office have highlighted problems in the management of seized properties, with some of them continuing to be under the control of criminal groups. Experts warn of potential risks of the Seized Assets Management Agency being used for private or political interests, while auction procedures for confiscated assets are often suspended, leaving assets to deteriorate and their value to decrease.
Luxury that challenges
Among the alleys filled with hotels and bars, a modern glass facade in gray and black stands out. At night, it looks like a lighted glass facade, attracting attention among the other hotels in those alleys. And on the right, its name, Rich Hotel, can be read from afar, accompanied by a crown, as a symbol of royal luxury, and the owners themselves advertise the comfort they offer to customers.
It is precisely the luxury hotel that the Korça Prosecutor's Office announced on September 26, 2025, its seizure due to reasonable suspicions that the source of income for its construction comes from criminal activities. The assets are owned by the Bulicka family, and according to the prosecution, they are suspected of having benefited from the criminal activity of drug trafficking in Spain and Italy by Edri Bulicka.
Although according to the official announcement, the property is seized, the hotel continues its daily activities. The staff and owners have not stopped working.
"We are continuing our activities normally, there are no obstacles for us! Anyone who comes to us as a client is more than satisfied. We will end this situation very well, the truth always comes out," Edlira Bulicka, in whose name the hotel is registered, told "shteg.org".
According to the official announcement, the seizure of "Rich Hotel" and several other assets came after a three-year investigation by the Korça Prosecutor's Office.
Edri Bulicka is suspected of having invested the proceeds from drug trafficking in Italy and Spain in movable and immovable property in Albania, registering them in his own name and that of his family members.
The investigation was launched in 2022 by the Pogradec Prosecutor's Office and was finalized on September 26, 2025 with the seizure of several properties and vehicles. These include "Rich Hotel", two apartments, a 965 m² plot of land, a car buying and selling business, a service station owned by Edmond Bulička (Edri's father), as well as six vehicles.
According to verifications, Edri Bulicka had declared that he was employed as a waiter in the village of Udënisht, but investigations showed that he had not actually been registered as an employee. Also, bank transactions carried out by him over the years show significant amounts in lek and foreign currency, without a justified source.
His mother, Edlira Bulicka, also turns out that since December 2021 she has registered a commercial activity with "online sales", but according to the prosecution, the address of the activity coincides with the address of the apartment, which raises doubts about the real functioning of the business.
Although the decision of the First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction of Korça on preventive seizure was taken on September 26, 2025, the Seized Assets Administration Agency (AAPSK) confirmed the initiation of procedures for taking delivery of the properties three days later, on September 29.
"Today, on 29.09.2025, procedures are underway between the AAPSK institution and the investigation institutions for the takeover of the assets subject to the decision." - explained the AAPSK press office to "shteg.org".
But the protocol for seizing property has well-defined procedures in law, and immediately after the court's decision, a seized property must have distinctive signs indicating its legal status.
These may be information boards notifying the public that the property is under seizure, warning tapes, as well as the physical presence of a guard to supervise the territory and prevent damage or illegal interference.
In the absence of a final and binding decision from all levels of the judiciary for confiscation, no work of any kind is permitted to be carried out on this property.
If these elements are missing or their presence is not ascertained, reasonable suspicion arises that the property is not actually under the effective administration of the agency.
Documents obtained by "shteg.org", interviews, and official reports show that the case of the hotel in Pogradec is not the only one where institutions have failed to manage confiscated assets.
They highlight cases where confiscated properties are once again owned by criminal groups, while the procedures followed by the Agency for the Administration of Sequestered and Confiscated Assets raise doubts about the management of these assets.
Experts say there is a risk that the agency will be used as a tool to serve private or political interests, undermining its original purpose of protecting the public interest.
During 2024, according to the Special Prosecution Office, 59 million euros of assets of criminal origin were seized and confiscated, but an audit report by the Supreme State Audit Office has raised many questions regarding the management of properties by state agencies.
Experts say that seized and confiscated assets are deliberately left to degrade to reduce their value at auction, while auction procedures have been suspended by a verbal order as the government has strategic plans for the use of these properties./Shteg.org/
